It’s been a little while since I last blogged. I try not to force it. I really want to blog when I have something important to say.   

I’m coming up on 1 year paleo in about two weeks and it is so crazy to think that almost 365 days ago I decided to make a change, and I actually stuck with it! They say it takes 21 days to change a habit, and I believe that is true. That means you only need to make it through 3 little weeks to change your eating habits. That’s it. 3 weeks. 

I have to say, there are foods that I NEVER, ever, ever thought I could give up. Bread being one of them….. Honestly, I really don’t miss it that much. When I eat a burger I order it as a lettuce wrap or just plain, and I do not miss the bun at all. When I think about a bun I really think about fake, sugar filled bread. It doesn’t even sound good anymore. Burgers have so much flavor without the bun. I kinda think the bun overpowers the burger, to be honest. A greasy burger with super fresh veggies is delish! 

Another thing I didn’t think I could part with is pasta. One year ago I would have never ever imagined giving up pasta. I thought it would be super hard, but I have not had pasta in a year. A full year! Can you believe that? Not even a cheat meal. Absolutely no pasta. I have converted completely to spaghetti squash. 

Spaghetti squash is amazing. At first paleojr wouldn’t eat it, but I just kept trying, and one year later, he loves spaghetti squash. 

I make spaghetti with it and also a yummy 5 ingredient pizza spaghetti pie  (recipe from paleomg.com) you can do pasta primavera or any “pasta” dish really. It’s so good. And so healthy. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it. 

In all honesty, my favorite cheat of all this past year is cheese and wine. I try to buy high end cheeses and even grass fed whenever possible. Wine is almost always red and local. Organic when possible, but I just try to keep it in moderation. 

My last cheat is chocolate. 

A year ago I only ate milk chocolate. Never dark chocolate. Now I only eat 70% cocao or higher. Milk chocolate tastes very fake. I pretty much cannot eat milk chocolate at all. 

The reason why most chocolate is considered a cheat is because it contains refined sugar and soy……high end chocolate is hard to find (around here , anyway) and very expensive, so it’s not often that I can actually have it. I also try to eat  chocolate in moderation.  

So speaking about sweets, I decided this week I’m going to share a recipe from almost a year ago. I had been having a difficult time with my sweet tooth and started googling cookies. I found this yummy recipe, and actually only made them once. I made them again tonight and really enjoyed them. They are called Triple Almond Cookies. Here it is:
Triple Almond Paleo Cookies

1 1/2 cup blanched almond flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp cinnamon 

2 Tblsp melted coconut oil 

1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

1/4 tsp almond extract 

1/5 cup maple syrup 

15-18 sliced natural almonds

Preheat oven to 350

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl

Combine all wet ingredients 

Pour wet ingredients into dry

Scoop tablespoon size scoops onto parchment lined sheet 

Sprinkle slivered almonds on top

Bake for 10-15 min 

  

I’m not feeling like I have any wise words for you tonight. Not sure why. I usually have so much to say! I’ve been sitting here thinking and thinking about something creative to tell you, and I’ve got nothin! 

So, I’ll just tell you about my life for the past two weeks. The past two weeks have been all about celebrating! Our paleojr turned 8 and we celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. Lots of food and fun lately! 

I’ve stayed mostly on track food wise since my last blog. Here and there I didn’t have paleo options, but I did my best. I haven’t cooked a whole lot. At least nothing new, until this past Sunday. 

For our anniversary dinner we wanted to cook something new and super yummy, and healthy too. One of our favorite recipes prior to paleo was, what we called “peanut butter chicken” 

I got the recipe from a cheesy 101 chicken recipes book from the grocery store, I think. It calls for dry onion soup mix and peanut butter, along with some other things. I decided we should try to make a paleo version for our anniversary dinner, and it turned out GREAT! I swapped out the peanut butter for almond butter, and made my own onion soup mix with spices. The chicken is marinated and then skewered, and then bbq’d.

 I tried to get a pretty picture of them, but it was next to impossible, here’s my best shot! 

  
Sweet and savory…mmmmmm!           I’ll share my recipe at the end of this blog, but I wanted to share a few more ideas with you that I ate last week, that I plan to recreate. 

I got to try these at restaurants while out of town for our anniversary. I try to find something on the menu that is close to paleo, and just request a few changes. Sometimes you have to make some creative special requests while dining out, and often times they turn out pretty yummy. 

One snack that we had was amazing Blue Cheese stuffed Bacon wrapped Dates. Yum yum! Look how pretty they are! 

  
I can’t wait to make these. They were like dessert, and almost melted in your mouth! I think I’ll skip the cheese and add a cashew or hazelnut or something else inside. I’ll share my recipe once I figure it out! 😉

One more meal I never thought of before (it was so yummy we went to the same restaurant twice, and ordered the same thing both times) was a BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato, avacado) with no bread, with an egg on top. SOOOO GOOD! I’m making this real soon! Check out how pretty this plate was! Wow! No recipe needed! 

  
We went to Murphy’s CA for our anniversary and were spoiled with delicious food! 

The dates were at the V Bistro and the BLTA was from Outer Aisle Farm to Table Reataurant. Both restaurants are great, and highly reccommended! If you ever have the opportunity to go to Murphy’s, you must eat at these two great places! 

So here’s Paleo “Peanutbutter” Chicken

• About 15 skewers, soaked in water
• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, pounded thin and cut into strips
• 1/2 cup dry onion flakes
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp dry thyme
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 Tblsp coconut sugar
• 4 Tblsp almond butter

Combine all ingredients in a large ziplock bag. 

Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 

Remove and skewer layering back and fourth. 

BBQ or broil until chicken is no longer pink inside

Enjoy!